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Train departs for Gorakhpur with laborers from Mumbai, reaches Odisha.

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4 years ago

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Hundreds of migrant laborers who thought they were travelling from Mumbai to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh instead landed up in Odisha’s Rourkela city on Friday, after the “Shramik Special” train they were travelling in took a different route, News18 reported on Saturday. The special train had left from Bhayander in Mumbai on Thursday.

One of the passengers told ABP News that he wanted to travel to Kanpur, so he got on the Gorakhpur train. “We now realized that the train has reached Rourkela,” he added. “The train is taking a long route. We have no idea when the train will reach Gorakhpur.”

Some passengers said officials present in Rourkela told them that the motorman lost his way due to some mix-up. However, the Railways said it had intentionally changed the route.

“We have decided to run a few of the Shramik trains on diverted routes,” an unidentified official told News18. “Some trains were diverted for Bihar via Rourkela to clear congestion.”

But it is not clear why the passengers were not informed that the route had been changed. They have also not received any update on when the train would leave for Gorakhpur.

Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers were left stranded in their places of work after the Center declared a nationwide lock down on March 25 to limit the spread of the Covid-19 corona virus. Subsequently, many began making their way home on foot, over long distances.

Railways gave clarification

The matter has been clarified by the Central Railway’s PRO. According to the Railways, “Due to heavy congestion on Itarsi-Jabalpur-DDU route, a lot of labor special trains are running, the route has been changed. Therefore, it has been decided to run trains temporarily on the diverted route via WRI, Udhna, Surat, Vedad, Ankleshwar.

Even though the cleanliness of the railway has come, but still the question is that when normal trains are not running, then how much traffic is there, as well as if there is traffic then why the passenger was not informed about it. Apart from this, if the train has continued from the other route and it will take time to reach, then why was there no arrangement for food and drink of the laborers?

Gorakhpur and Rourkela are two distinct ends

Please tell that a clear route has been written on the ticket of the labor train which has run from Vasai, Mumbai. According to the route written on the ticket, the train had to reach Gorakhpur via Khandwa, Itarsi and Jabalpur via Vasai Kalyan.

Gorakhpur is about 1500 kilometers north of Vasai in Mumbai, while Rourkela is about 1600 kilometers from Vasai. In such a situation, if the train of these migrant laborers reached their home in 24 hours, then their first 24 hours were wasted in going to Odisha and now they have to travel about 800 km from Odisha to Gorakhpur.

On May 1, the Center started over 300 “Shramik Special” trains to take the laborers to their hometowns. But the workers cannot directly book train tickets. They have to first register with the government of the host state, which then coordinates with the government of the home state.

There has been rush to railway stations around the country to board the trains. However, the police have pushed the laborers back, in some cases using force to do so.

There have also been complaints of black marketing of tickets for the trains. Tickets that never arrived have been sold for prices as exorbitant as Rs 1,500.

India has so far reported 1,25,101 cases of the corona virus, including 3,720 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The nationwide lock down is set to conclude on May 31.

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Cheers and Cheers: Barzilla’s Joyful Ode to Inclusivity and Celebration

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7 months ago

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October 4, 2023

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The RG Marathon Championship Run 2023 in Goa was a testament to inclusivity. Initially resistant to including persons with disabilities, it eventually featured wheelchair and standing categories, thanks to advocates’ efforts. Participants showed exceptional determination, emphasizing unity in diversity. Despite challenging weather, they demonstrated the power of community support, highlighting the need for accessibility and inclusion in all state-level events in Goa.

Following the marathon, a gathering of differently-abled individuals, predominantly wheelchair users, convened for a celebratory lunch at Barzilla. The event, orchestrated by Mr. Shariq Khan and Mr. Zain Aftab, proprietors of Barzilla, honored the birthday of Sadaf Fatima, who also uses a wheelchair and is Mr. Shariq Khan’s wife.

 

The lunch featured esteemed guests including the Tourism Minister of Goa, MLA Rohan Khaunte of Porvorim, Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Desai, and the State Commissioner for Persons with Disability in Goa, Guruprasad Pawaskar. The event was impeccably hosted by Ms. Falak Fatima and Mr. Adarsh Parashar, offering activities such as Karaoke and Billiards. The youth of Goa exhibited their unwavering support for the community, making the party an unequivocal success.

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